Stuck roller coaster at Great America

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle
I love all the replies about "its a good thing the ride wasn't upside down". No shit, gravity wouldn't let a train get stuck there. It got stuck on the freaking lift hill.

However I am amazed that the ride/park doesn't have a way to get people off in that situation without calling the fire department. You can see the steps under them. Any roller coaster I have been on (cedar point) has a little gas powered cart that the employees can use to move up under the train and get people off and let them walk down.

You do realize that they can stop these rides at nearly any spot on most modern ones for safty reasons, right?

eh?

a ride can only be stopped where there is something that is controlling the motion, other than gravity.
Lift hills, mid-course brake runs, end brake run, the station, and if launched, stopped by the magnetic launching mechanism (unless its launched by hydraulics, like Top Thrill Dragster, which uses magnetic brakes to stop if it rolls back, which the fins pop up when power is cut)... those are where coaster trains can be stopped. Nowhere else.

What I am confused about, is the relevance of that post in general. sswingle was discussing the concept of lift-hill access. Every other ride, even inverted rides, have some sort of method to get people off the ride if it is permanently stuck on the lift hill.

That's just absolutely terrible ride design to not have that. Sure, it might not happen often, or even has never happened and some crazy lift chain design makes it near impossible. But that lift hill access is still good logic to have in case.

Not a single rollercoaster at Cedar Point, or any Cedar Fair park, requires outside assistance to rescue the passengers of a stuck train.
All reasons I prefer Cedar Fair owned parks to Six Flags. Six Flags can suck it. Though Cedar Point is the only place I go to, because it's an hour or so from my home town. I've been to Knott's Berry Farm when I was out there for a convention, and that was a nice little park.

hmmm

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle
I love all the replies about "its a good thing the ride wasn't upside down". No shit, gravity wouldn't let a train get stuck there. It got stuck on the freaking lift hill.

However I am amazed that the ride/park doesn't have a way to get people off in that situation without calling the fire department. You can see the steps under them. Any roller coaster I have been on (cedar point) has a little gas powered cart that the employees can use to move up under the train and get people off and let them walk down.

You do realize that they can stop these rides at nearly any spot on most modern ones for safty reasons, right?

eh?

a ride can only be stopped where there is something that is controlling the motion, other than gravity.
Lift hills, mid-course brake runs, end brake run, the station, and if launched, stopped by the magnetic launching mechanism (unless its launched by hydraulics, like Top Thrill Dragster, which uses magnetic brakes to stop if it rolls back, which the fins pop up when power is cut)... those are where coaster trains can be stopped. Nowhere else.

What I am confused about, is the relevance of that post in general. sswingle was discussing the concept of lift-hill access. Every other ride, even inverted rides, have some sort of method to get people off the ride if it is permanently stuck on the lift hill.

That's just absolutely terrible ride design to not have that. Sure, it might not happen often, or even has never happened and some crazy lift chain design makes it near impossible. But that lift hill access is still good logic to have in case.

Not a single rollercoaster at Cedar Point, or any Cedar Fair park, requires outside assistance to rescue the passengers of a stuck train.
All reasons I prefer Cedar Fair owned parks to Six Flags. Six Flags can suck it. Though Cedar Point is the only place I go to, because it's an hour or so from my home town. I've been to Knott's Berry Farm when I was out there for a convention, and that was a nice little park.

hmmm

Exactly

 

[Newbian]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle
I love all the replies about "its a good thing the ride wasn't upside down". No shit, gravity wouldn't let a train get stuck there. It got stuck on the freaking lift hill.

However I am amazed that the ride/park doesn't have a way to get people off in that situation without calling the fire department. You can see the steps under them. Any roller coaster I have been on (cedar point) has a little gas powered cart that the employees can use to move up under the train and get people off and let them walk down.

You do realize that they can stop these rides at nearly any spot on most modern ones for safty reasons, right?

eh?

a ride can only be stopped where there is something that is controlling the motion, other than gravity.
Lift hills, mid-course brake runs, end brake run, the station, and if launched, stopped by the magnetic launching mechanism (unless its launched by hydraulics, like Top Thrill Dragster, which uses magnetic brakes to stop if it rolls back, which the fins pop up when power is cut)... those are where coaster trains can be stopped. Nowhere else.

What I am confused about, is the relevance of that post in general. sswingle was discussing the concept of lift-hill access. Every other ride, even inverted rides, have some sort of method to get people off the ride if it is permanently stuck on the lift hill.

That's just absolutely terrible ride design to not have that. Sure, it might not happen often, or even has never happened and some crazy lift chain design makes it near impossible. But that lift hill access is still good logic to have in case.

Not a single rollercoaster at Cedar Point, or any Cedar Fair park, requires outside assistance to rescue the passengers of a stuck train.
All reasons I prefer Cedar Fair owned parks to Six Flags. Six Flags can suck it. Though Cedar Point is the only place I go to, because it's an hour or so from my home town. I've been to Knott's Berry Farm when I was out there for a convention, and that was a nice little park.

hmmm

Google it a bit and you will find plenty of horror stories of the trains getting stuck in various areas such as loops or in areas where the train is holding the people upside down.

 

[UberNeuman]

Nothing beats THE DEVASTATOR!

 

[Newbian]

Originally posted by: UberNeuman
Nothing beats THE DEVASTATOR!

Greatest ad evar!!!.

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle
I love all the replies about "its a good thing the ride wasn't upside down". No shit, gravity wouldn't let a train get stuck there. It got stuck on the freaking lift hill.

However I am amazed that the ride/park doesn't have a way to get people off in that situation without calling the fire department. You can see the steps under them. Any roller coaster I have been on (cedar point) has a little gas powered cart that the employees can use to move up under the train and get people off and let them walk down.

You do realize that they can stop these rides at nearly any spot on most modern ones for safty reasons, right?

eh?

a ride can only be stopped where there is something that is controlling the motion, other than gravity.
Lift hills, mid-course brake runs, end brake run, the station, and if launched, stopped by the magnetic launching mechanism (unless its launched by hydraulics, like Top Thrill Dragster, which uses magnetic brakes to stop if it rolls back, which the fins pop up when power is cut)... those are where coaster trains can be stopped. Nowhere else.

What I am confused about, is the relevance of that post in general. sswingle was discussing the concept of lift-hill access. Every other ride, even inverted rides, have some sort of method to get people off the ride if it is permanently stuck on the lift hill.

That's just absolutely terrible ride design to not have that. Sure, it might not happen often, or even has never happened and some crazy lift chain design makes it near impossible. But that lift hill access is still good logic to have in case.

Not a single rollercoaster at Cedar Point, or any Cedar Fair park, requires outside assistance to rescue the passengers of a stuck train.
All reasons I prefer Cedar Fair owned parks to Six Flags. Six Flags can suck it. Though Cedar Point is the only place I go to, because it's an hour or so from my home town. I've been to Knott's Berry Farm when I was out there for a convention, and that was a nice little park.

hmmm

Google it a bit and you will find plenty of horror stories of the trains getting stuck in various areas such as loops or in areas where the train is holding the people upside down.

I found a bunch of stories about a single incident on the x-coaster

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle
I love all the replies about "its a good thing the ride wasn't upside down". No shit, gravity wouldn't let a train get stuck there. It got stuck on the freaking lift hill.

However I am amazed that the ride/park doesn't have a way to get people off in that situation without calling the fire department. You can see the steps under them. Any roller coaster I have been on (cedar point) has a little gas powered cart that the employees can use to move up under the train and get people off and let them walk down.

You do realize that they can stop these rides at nearly any spot on most modern ones for safty reasons, right?

You would be wrong. Even the newest, biggest modern roller coasters have set braking positions along the ride. Most have 1 or 2 spots.

The trains themselves do not have brakes, and they do not put brakes along the entire length of the ride. Where they do have breaking positions, they also have the capability to unload the people safely without bringing in the fire department.

Then explain how there are times when such rides get stuck with people upside down?

I do not know of any such instance. Have an article? Even if there was, there is a difference between a ride getting stuck and your statement that the operators can stop the ride at will anywhere they want.

Google it and you will get plenty.

And your statement about "No shit, gravity wouldn't let a train get stuck there." was wrong also.

well I already responded in depth to your original reply, but...

rides getting stuck upside down, or in strange spots, are extremely rare... and I still don't get how the point of 'ride can be stopped anywhere for safety reasons' and it getting stuck upside down are at all connected.

Gravity works with the rollercoaster train in 99.99999% of occasions, but if other factors come into play, gravity cannot help.

And in those instances, most parks suspend operation of a ride, so they can minimize the times when something bad can happen, like getting stuck at the apex of a loop.
Most modern loops are designed to make it nearly impossible to get stuck, and to this effect, most coasters have never had it happen. If there are high winds at the right angle, it can make the train crawl through the loop instead of speeding through it, and has caused a train to get stuck. It has happened where the train didn't clear the loop and rolled back through the course - this requires a crane to pull it through the course to get it back to the station.

 

[ozziememz]

my girl would be uncontrollable!

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

This isn't exactly uncommon

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sadly this happens often and a much better situation usually then if they let the ride continue.

Hopefully the people were not stuck upside down or such and it was a regular sitting coaster and not something like the ones where you lie down.

Oh, gawd, it does NOT happen often. It happens rarely, which is why it is a news story. And it's hardly sad.

 

[Newbian]

Originally posted by: sswingle

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle
I love all the replies about "its a good thing the ride wasn't upside down". No shit, gravity wouldn't let a train get stuck there. It got stuck on the freaking lift hill.

However I am amazed that the ride/park doesn't have a way to get people off in that situation without calling the fire department. You can see the steps under them. Any roller coaster I have been on (cedar point) has a little gas powered cart that the employees can use to move up under the train and get people off and let them walk down.

You do realize that they can stop these rides at nearly any spot on most modern ones for safty reasons, right?

eh?

a ride can only be stopped where there is something that is controlling the motion, other than gravity.
Lift hills, mid-course brake runs, end brake run, the station, and if launched, stopped by the magnetic launching mechanism (unless its launched by hydraulics, like Top Thrill Dragster, which uses magnetic brakes to stop if it rolls back, which the fins pop up when power is cut)... those are where coaster trains can be stopped. Nowhere else.

What I am confused about, is the relevance of that post in general. sswingle was discussing the concept of lift-hill access. Every other ride, even inverted rides, have some sort of method to get people off the ride if it is permanently stuck on the lift hill.

That's just absolutely terrible ride design to not have that. Sure, it might not happen often, or even has never happened and some crazy lift chain design makes it near impossible. But that lift hill access is still good logic to have in case.

Not a single rollercoaster at Cedar Point, or any Cedar Fair park, requires outside assistance to rescue the passengers of a stuck train.
All reasons I prefer Cedar Fair owned parks to Six Flags. Six Flags can suck it. Though Cedar Point is the only place I go to, because it's an hour or so from my home town. I've been to Knott's Berry Farm when I was out there for a convention, and that was a nice little park.

hmmm

Google it a bit and you will find plenty of horror stories of the trains getting stuck in various areas such as loops or in areas where the train is holding the people upside down.

I found a bunch of stories about a single incident on the x-coaster

Heh, we are on the 2nd page.

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sadly this happens often and a much better situation usually then if they let the ride continue.

Hopefully the people were not stuck upside down or such and it was a regular sitting coaster and not something like the ones where you lie down.

Oh, gawd, it does NOT happen often. It happens rarely, which is why it is a news story. And it's hardly sad.

It happens more often than you think. Although again, its rare that the park employees can't get people off relatively easily instead of calling the FD.

 

[Newbian]

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sadly this happens often and a much better situation usually then if they let the ride continue.

Hopefully the people were not stuck upside down or such and it was a regular sitting coaster and not something like the ones where you lie down.

Oh, gawd, it does NOT happen often. It happens rarely, which is why it is a news story. And it's hardly sad.

I wasn't saying getting stuck upside down happens often but the coasters do stop a few times a day.

Most of us responding to the first story had no idea they were upside down when we posted.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sadly this happens often and a much better situation usually then if they let the ride continue.

Hopefully the people were not stuck upside down or such and it was a regular sitting coaster and not something like the ones where you lie down.

Oh, gawd, it does NOT happen often. It happens rarely, which is why it is a news story. And it's hardly sad.

I wasn't saying getting stuck upside down happens often but the coasters do stop a few times a day.

Most of us responding to the first story had no idea they were upside down when we posted.

This ride.. I've seen it stuck before. I swear it was senior year high school or something? Physics day? I was in line. I saw it get stuck. Briefly though. They let the people down, closed it for 15 min, ran it twice, then let people back on.

There was a ride similar to this stuck before, and it's the same type.

Sorry I'd be shit scared if I was the front facing down guy. It's kinda scary as they take you up already because you're just against the harness the whole time.

On a cheerier note, my friend carried a camera during the ride when we went last year, and it was hilarious to watch the girls across from us scream their heads off. I wonder if he still has the footage.

 

[sygyzy]

Originally posted by: sswingle

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle
I love all the replies about "its a good thing the ride wasn't upside down". No shit, gravity wouldn't let a train get stuck there. It got stuck on the freaking lift hill.

However I am amazed that the ride/park doesn't have a way to get people off in that situation without calling the fire department. You can see the steps under them. Any roller coaster I have been on (cedar point) has a little gas powered cart that the employees can use to move up under the train and get people off and let them walk down.

You do realize that they can stop these rides at nearly any spot on most modern ones for safty reasons, right?

You would be wrong. Even the newest, biggest modern roller coasters have set braking positions along the ride. Most have 1 or 2 spots.

The trains themselves do not have brakes, and they do not put brakes along the entire length of the ride. Where they do have breaking positions, they also have the capability to unload the people safely without bringing in the fire department.

I am surprised to hear this because I have seen video/pics of people stuck upside down on roller coasters.

 

[peez]

looks like fun i want to go there.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sadly this happens often and a much better situation usually then if they let the ride continue.

Hopefully the people were not stuck upside down or such and it was a regular sitting coaster and not something like the ones where you lie down.

Oh, gawd, it does NOT happen often. It happens rarely, which is why it is a news story. And it's hardly sad.

I wasn't saying getting stuck upside down happens often but the coasters do stop a few times a day.

Most of us responding to the first story had no idea they were upside down when we posted.

It happens a few times a day, that a coaster gets stuck?
Any single coaster, or out of all coasters in the world?

Because any good park with good maintenance, any single coaster won't get stuck more than once a week, if that. If it gets stuck, its on the lift hill. Which is hardly news worthy, because it was designed that way.

X-Coaster is about the most terrible design for a coaster I've ever had, and there is a reason respectable parks don't have anything like that. That appears to be a ride that has a severe chance of people getting stuck upside down. Is that a vertical lift chain, which pushes/pulls the train immediately into an upside down position? Smart. Didn't know something like that ever existed.

The one in China appears to be the same Vekoma design as the one in the OP. Vekoma makes terrible coasters for the most part anyhow, so this is of no surprise. But having "safety devices" in the middle of a loop? Entirely logical. Let's purposefully make riders get stuck upside down. Ha. Ha. Great jokesters these designers.

Let me recite something: any good ride won't have the ability to purposefully lock a train upside down.
Example: Photo
normal, full circuit rides, have no "mechanisms" to stop a train during a cobra roll (the name of the element in the picture, and the same type of element that Chinese ride was purposefully locked upside during). I never knew ride designers made that, as it isn't logical. In a non-full circuit ride like the one in the OP and the one in China, if the train doesn't clear something, it'll just roll back and forward and the segment of track it got stuck on, eventually coming to a stop, with riders upright.

Oh, and as the article about the Chinese ride stated, wind is a factor in causing trains to not do what they are supposed to do, and the end result in almost every single occasion is the train "valleys", meaning it rolls back and forth on a segment of track lower and before the element it couldn't execute properly.

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sadly this happens often and a much better situation usually then if they let the ride continue.

Hopefully the people were not stuck upside down or such and it was a regular sitting coaster and not something like the ones where you lie down.

Oh, gawd, it does NOT happen often. It happens rarely, which is why it is a news story. And it's hardly sad.

I wasn't saying getting stuck upside down happens often but the coasters do stop a few times a day.

Most of us responding to the first story had no idea they were upside down when we posted.

Because any good park with good maintenance, any single coaster won't get stuck more than once a week, if that. If it gets stuck, its on the lift hill. Which is hardly news worthy, because it was designed that way.

And the ride in this article WAS on a lift hill, which makes it that much more ridiculous.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: sygyzy

Originally posted by: sswingle

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: sswingle
I love all the replies about "its a good thing the ride wasn't upside down". No shit, gravity wouldn't let a train get stuck there. It got stuck on the freaking lift hill.

However I am amazed that the ride/park doesn't have a way to get people off in that situation without calling the fire department. You can see the steps under them. Any roller coaster I have been on (cedar point) has a little gas powered cart that the employees can use to move up under the train and get people off and let them walk down.

You do realize that they can stop these rides at nearly any spot on most modern ones for safty reasons, right?

You would be wrong. Even the newest, biggest modern roller coasters have set braking positions along the ride. Most have 1 or 2 spots.

The trains themselves do not have brakes, and they do not put brakes along the entire length of the ride. Where they do have breaking positions, they also have the capability to unload the people safely without bringing in the fire department.

I am surprised to hear this because I have seen video/pics of people stuck upside down on roller coasters.

It's extremely rare to get stuck upside down, but whenever it happens, it's big news. There are always videos and photos floating around of anything getting stuck.

For instance, I believe it has happened a total of 3 times - Top Thrill Dragster has gotten stuck at the top of the hill when conditions are perfectly met. A little wind, the ride didn't launch at a perfect speed (the ride frequently launches at varied speeds, sometimes not even enough to clear the hill, and it rolls back. they've got that worked out quite good now, but still happens, and they just launch again - that's the issue with hydraulic launch and varied weights of passengers), and it just barely gets stuck. Sometimes it has gotten close to stuck but wind helped push it one direction or the other, but in the event of it getting stuck, someone rides the elevator to the top, and pushes.

 

[Newbian]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: CPA

Originally posted by: Newbian
Sadly this happens often and a much better situation usually then if they let the ride continue.

Hopefully the people were not stuck upside down or such and it was a regular sitting coaster and not something like the ones where you lie down.

Oh, gawd, it does NOT happen often. It happens rarely, which is why it is a news story. And it's hardly sad.

I wasn't saying getting stuck upside down happens often but the coasters do stop a few times a day.

Most of us responding to the first story had no idea they were upside down when we posted.

It happens a few times a day, that a coaster gets stuck?
Any single coaster, or out of all coasters in the world?

Because any good park with good maintenance, any single coaster won't get stuck more than once a week, if that. If it gets stuck, its on the lift hill. Which is hardly news worthy, because it was designed that way.

X-Coaster is about the most terrible design for a coaster I've ever had, and there is a reason respectable parks don't have anything like that. That appears to be a ride that has a severe chance of people getting stuck upside down. Is that a vertical lift chain, which pushes/pulls the train immediately into an upside down position? Smart. Didn't know something like that ever existed.

The one in China appears to be the same Vekoma design as the one in the OP. Vekoma makes terrible coasters for the most part anyhow, so this is of no surprise. But having "safety devices" in the middle of a loop? Entirely logical. Let's purposefully make riders get stuck upside down. Ha. Ha. Great jokesters these designers.

Let me recite something: any good ride won't have the ability to purposefully lock a train upside down.
Example: Photo
normal, full circuit rides, have no "mechanisms" to stop a train during a cobra roll (the name of the element in the picture, and the same type of element that Chinese ride was purposefully locked upside during). I never knew ride designers made that, as it isn't logical. In a non-full circuit ride like the one in the OP and the one in China, if the train doesn't clear something, it'll just roll back and forward and the segment of track it got stuck on, eventually coming to a stop, with riders upright.

Oh, and as the article about the Chinese ride stated, wind is a factor in causing trains to not do what they are supposed to do, and the end result in almost every single occasion is the train "valleys", meaning it rolls back and forth on a segment of track lower and before the element it couldn't execute properly.

I never said get stuck but many do have small interruptions a day